Foldable furniture unit



April 15, 1952 B. LEVlTlN ET AL 2,593,319

FOLDABLE FURNITURE UNIT Filed May 4, 1950 W 5. INVENTORSI 8 IrvingWPeepZes & BY fiery B. Pe 6 056.5

M0 4' am 744 ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 15, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 2,593,319 FoLDABtE FURNITURE UNIT Benjamin Levitin, James G.Brown, irving W. Peeples, and Mary B. Peeples, Washington, D. 0.

Application May 4, 1950, se -m1 No. 159,964 4 Claims. (01. -33 'l) Thepresent invention relates to a new unit of household furniture adaptedfor selective use as a seat, back rest, or lounge, and also adapted tobe combined with a similar unit to form a hassock.

More specifically, the invention relates to a foldable furniture unithaving a predetermined geometrical configuration enabling the same to beused in different ways according to the character of support desired bythe user.

One of the principal features of the invention resides in making theunit of two complementary sections flexibly connected together anddesigned so that the sections can be opened or unfolded to provide asubstantially full length support for a body in a reclining or lyingdown position, and folded up or closed for use as a seat or a simpleinclined back rest.

The principal object of the invention is toprovide a furniture unit forsupporting a body in a comfortable, relaxed, informal position before afireplace, television set. etc.

Another object of the invention is to provide a furniture unit ofpredetermined geometrical configuration such that it can be combinedwith a unit of similar geometrical configuration to form a diiferentitem of household furniture, to wit, a hassock.

Another object of the invention is to provide a furniture unit that canbe used as a lounge, and which can be readily folded to a smaller sizeand used as a seat or inclined back rest, and which occupies a smallspace when folded, so that it can be stored away in a closet or placedout of the way in a corner of a room.

A further object of the invention is to provide a foldable, cushionedfurniture unit which has a supporting surface preshaped to conformgenerally to the contour of a reclining human body when the unit isunfolded and used as a lounge.

Other objects and features of the invention will .be apparent from thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hassock including two furniture unitsembodying the principles of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the novel furniture unit per se, butillustrating the same in a folded or closed condition and turned over onits base to serve as a back rest;

Fig. 3 is a View illustrating the furniture unit of Fig. 2 opened up orunfolded ready for use as a lounge; v

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the forward section of thefurniture unit taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the rear section of thefurniture unit taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

The furniture unit embodying the principles of the invention may haveany desired geometri cal configuration or appearance, such as atriangular prism, an ungula, etc-., so that when two of the units areplaced together, they will form a hassock resembling a parallelepiped, acylinder, etc. It is preferable, however, in the interest of simplicityof construction, to form the basic furniture units as right triangularprisms and Fig. 1 illustrates two such units I and I arranged to form ahassock ensemble generally identified by the numeral 2. The two units Iand I are adapted to be detachably connected together to form thehassock 2, which can be divided diagonally along the line 3,corresponding to the hypotenuse of the units, as will be explained morefully hereinafter.

The units I and I are identical and the unit I is illustrated in detailin Figs. 2 to 5 to which reference will now be made. The unit Icomprises a pair of sections 4 and 5 of complementary design butpresenting, when in a closed or folded condition, the general appearanceof a right triangular prism. The sections 41 and 5 may both be made inthe form of frameless cushions having the external appearance orconfigurations illustrated, but in order to impart substantial rigidityto the unit, it is preferable to incorporate a suitable frame structurein each section. By way of example, and not limitation, the frame of thesection 4 is illustrated as made of wood and includes a flat bottom wall6 and a pair of upstanding side walls 1 and B disposed along thelongitudinal sides of said bottom wall. A rear wall 9 is disposedbetween the side walls I and 8 at the rear end of the bottom wall 6. Theupper edges I0 and I I of the side walls I and 8 slope downwardly fromthe rear wall 9 toward the forward end I2 of the bottom wall 6. Theupper edge I3 of the rear wall 9 is bevelled to correspond to the slopeof the upper edges II] and II of the side walls I and 8. A partition I4is diagonally arranged at the back end of the section 4 and is disposedgenerally parallel with the upper edges of the side walls I and B. Thebottom wall 6, side walls I and 8, rear wall 9 and partition I4 can beglued, nailed or otherwise permanently fastened together. The outerexposed surfaces of the frame of the section 4 are covered with cloth;leatherette, plastic or other suitable upholstery material I5, paddingl6 preferably be ing disposed between the covering and the side walls ofthe frame. The covering material I5 may be tacked or otherwise suitablysecured to the wooden frame structure.

A cushion I! (Fig. 3) is shaped to fill the space above the partition I4and bottom wall 6 and between the side walls I and 8 and the rear wallI3, the upper surface of the cushion having a slightly concave contourconforming to that of the upper edges I and II of the side walls I and8.

The section comprises a bottom wall 6 which is bevelled at its forwardend I8 and has its rear end I9 positioned adjacent the forward end I2 ofthe bottom wall 6 of the section 1. The bottom Walls 6 and 6 arefastened together in the relation specified by a pair of hinges 20. SideWalls I and I3 (Fig. 4) are glued or otherwise suitably fastened to theside edges of the bottom wall 6 The side walls l and 8 have upper edgesIii and H that are convex and complemental to the upper edges It and IIof theside walls 'I and 8. The exposed outer surfaces of the bottom wall(5 and the side walls I and 3 are covered by a covering material ZI of anature similar to the covering I5, and padding material 22 is preferablyinterposed between the covering 2| and the side walls i and W, asillustrated in Fig. 4. A cushion 23 is disposed above the bottom wall tibetween the side walls l and 8 and its upper surface is contoured to aconvex shape to conform with that of the curvature of the upper edgesIll and II of the side walls i and 8*. As will be apparent from Fig. 3,the cushion 23 extends from the rear end I9 of the bottom wall 6 to theforward bevelled edge I8 of said bottom wall, and forms a longitudinalcontinuation of the cushion IT. The end I9 is bevelled in a directionaway from the adjacent end I2 of the bottom wall 6, so that it lies in aplane substantially perpendicular to said bottom wall when the unit isin its folded condition shown in Fig. 2. The cushion I! may beadhesively bonded, tacked, or otherwise secured to the section t and thecushion 23 may be similarly secured to the section 5. If desired, thecushions I! and 23 can be joined together at their adjacent ends orformed as a one-piece cushion structure.

The section 5 is adapted to be swung on the hinges 20 from the unfoldedcondition of the unit shown in Fig. 3, 'into its folded positionoverlying the section l, as illustrated in Fig. 2. The unit I then restson its base or bottom wall 6 and may be used as a sloping back rest,with the body resting against the sloping wall fi If a more upright backrest is desired, the unit I can obviously be stood on end with the rearwall I3 parallel with the floor, in which event the wall 5, will againbe engaged by the back of the body.

The units I and i when folded, may also be placed upon their sides, thatis to say, with either the side walls 'I-'l or the side walls ildlowermost and the uppermost side walls used as a flat seat, or the unitsI and I may be positioned as illustrated in Fig. l with the hypotenusesthereof disposed adjacent each other and the two sections fastenedtogether by flaps 24, as will now be described.

One flap 24 (formed of leather, heavy cloth or any other suitablematerial) has one end thereof secured to the covering I5 by stitching 25(Fig. 1) and is also preferably securely fastened to the rear wall 9 bya row of tacks 28 in a region remote from the bottom wall 6. The otherend of the flap I'I carries a plurality of conventional snap fastenerelements 21 which engage with coacting fastening elements 21 secured tothe bottom wall of the other unit I so that the units I and I can bereadily connected together in the relationship illustrated to form thehassock 2. It will be observed that the flap 24 is long enough to extendfrom the rear of one unit around the adjacent end of the other unit, tothus conceal the joint at the hinged end of the other unit.

This feature provides a neat and attractive appearance, particularly ifthe flap 24 has a color which harmonizes with the color of the coveringsI5 and 2|. It will also be observed that the flap 24 hangs downwardly atthe rear of the unit I when the units I and I are detached, asin Fig. 3.

Should it be desired to use the units I and I separately, the flaps 24can be quickly unfastened by separating the snap fasteners 2'I--2'I topermit separation of the units I and I along the diagonal line 3, andthe units then unfolded so that the sections 4 and 5 are in longitudinalalignment and form a low lounge, with the bottom walls 6 and 6 thereofdisposed in a horizontal plane and resting upon the floor. The cushionsI1 and 23 are purposely shaped to generally conform to the contour of ahuman body in a reclining position and, therefore, provide a verycomfortable support for the body.

It will be understood that various changes may be made in the details ofconstruction and in the configuration of the sections 4 and 5 of thebasic unit I, without departing from the principles of the invention orthe scope of the annexed claims.

We claim:

1. A foldable furniture unit having the external appearance of ageometrical solid, said unit including two cushion sectionsinterconnected at one end, said cushions being disposed with a face ofone cushion confronting a face of the other when the unit is folded, andwith one cushion disposed in longitudinal alignment with the other whenthe unit is unfolded for supporting a body in a reclining position, theface of said one cushion being concave and the face of said othercushion being convex and complemental thereto.

2. A furniture unit having the general appearance of a right triangularprism, said unit comprising two complementary sections having facesarranged in confronting relation; means hingedly connecting saidsections together at one end thereof, the face of one of said sectionsbeing concave and the other being convex, said hinge means providing forswinging one of said sections into longitudinal alignment with the otherso that the convex face of one section forms a longitudinal continuationof the concave face of the other section.

3. A furniture unit, comprising: two complementary sections jointlypresenting the external appearance of a substantially right triangularprism, one of said sections including a frame having a bottom wall, sidewalls and a rear wall, and the other section having a frame including abottom wall and side walls; hinge means connecting the forward end ofthe bottom wall of the frame of said one section with one end of thebottom wall of the frame of said other section, so that one section canbe swung into position in longitudinal alignment with the other sectionwith the two bottom Walls disposed in a common plane and with the sidewalls extending upwardly from said bottom walls, each of said sectionshaving cushion means disposed between the side walls of the framethereof for supporting a body in a reclining position.

4. A furniture unit, comprising: two complementary sections arranged inthe form of a substantially right triangular prism, one of said sectionsincluding a frame having a bottom wall, side walls and a rear wall, andthe other section having a frame including a bottom wall and side walls;hinge means connecting the forward end of the bottom wall of the frameof said one see:

5 tion with one end of the bottom wall of the frame of said othersection so that one section can be swung into position in longitudinalalignment with the other section, the side walls of said one sectionhaving concave edges and the side walls of said other section havingconvex edges substantiallycomplemental to the convex edges of said onesection, and each of said sections having cushion means disposed betweenthe side walls thereof with the outer surface thereof substantiallyconforming to the curvature of the edges of the side walls associatedtherewith.

BENJAMIN LEVI'I'IN. JAMES G. BROWN. IRVING W. PEEPLES. MARY B. PEEPLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,296,930 Darling Mar. 11, 19192,013,481 Stonehill Sept. 3, 1935 2,047,035 Rosenberg July '7, 19362,108,241 Wallace Feb. 15, 1938 2,531,724 Cevasco Nov. 28, 1950 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 491,261 Great Britain Aug. 30, 1938

